妙法蓮華經文句 8.60

8.60

「大樂說以如來神力」下，第二，明分身遠集。就此有七：一、樂說請見多寶，二、應集分身，三、樂說請集，四、放光遠召，五、諸佛同來，六、嚴淨國界，七、與欲開塔。釋初請，云「承佛神力」者，欲開塔須集佛，集佛即付囑，付囑即召下方，下方出即應開近顯遠，此是大事之由，豈非佛神力令問也？餘段如文。「爾時佛放白毫」下，四，放光遠召。三變土淨者，此正由三昧，三昧有三，初變娑婆，是背捨能變穢為淨；次變二百那由他，是勝處轉變自在；後變二百那由他，是一切處於境無閡。又初一變淨表淨除四住，次一變淨表淨除塵沙，後一變淨表淨除無明。「是時諸佛坐師子座」，第七，與欲開塔，復五：一、諸佛問訊說欲，二、釋迦開塔，三、四眾皆同見聞，四、二佛分座而坐，五、四眾請加。諸佛同與欲開塔，如僧中作法與欲意也。《大集》明若干佛與欲，《華嚴》亦說十方若干佛同說《華嚴》，《大品》亦云千佛同說《般若》，皆不云是釋迦分身；準今經者應是分身，彼帶方便故時中不顯說耳。今經非但數多，亦直說是分身咸來與欲也。「爾時釋迦見」下，第二，開塔者即是開權，見佛者即是顯實，亦是證前，復將開後。「如却關鑰」者，却障機動也。「以大音聲」下，第二，釋迦唱募覓流通人。復為三：一、大聲唱募。「如來不久」下，第二，明付囑時至。「佛欲以」下，第，三明付囑有在。「有在」者，若佛在世隨機利物，自說正法無待他人；今佛化緣機盡，欲令此法利益無窮，故須付囑流通也。「付囑有在」者，此有二意：一、近令有在，付八萬二萬舊住菩薩此土弘宣；二、遠令有在，付本弟子下方千界微塵，令觸處流通，又發起壽量也。

From the phrase "Then Great Joy of Preaching, through the Tathāgata’s transcendent power" onward, second, explains the emanations gathering from afar. In this there are seven: first, Joy of Preaching requesting to see Prabhūtaratna; second, that the emanations should gather; third, Joy of Preaching requesting them to gather; fourth, emitting light to summon them from afar; fifth, the Buddhas arriving together; sixth, purifying the buddha realms; seventh, conferring consent to open the tower. Explaining the initial request, when it says "relying on the Buddha’s transcendent power": to open the tower requires gathering the Buddhas; gathering the Buddhas is for entrustment; entrustment entails summoning those from below; those from below emerging means opening the near and revealing the distant. Since this is the cause of the great matter, how could it not be the Buddha's transcendent power causing him to ask? The rest of the passage is as in the text. From "Then the Buddha emitted from the white tuft" onward, fourth, emitting light to summon them from afar. The three transformations of the land into purity directly derive from samādhi, and there are three samādhis: first, transforming the sahā world is liberation (aṣṭavimokṣa), which can transform defilement into purity; next, transforming the two hundred nayutas is the station of mastery (abhibhvāyatana), freely transforming; finally, transforming the two hundred nayutas is the total sphere (kṛtsnāyatana), unobstructed with respect to the objective realm. Furthermore, the first transformation into purity represents purifying away the four types of abiding [defilements]; the next transformation into purity represents purifying away the dust-and-sand [defilements]; the final transformation into purity represents purifying away ignorance. "At that time the Buddhas sat on lion thrones": seventh, conferring consent to open the tower, which again has five: first, the Buddhas sending greetings and expressing consent; second, Śākyamuni opening the tower; third, the fourfold assembly all seeing and hearing together; fourth, the two Buddhas sharing the seat; fifth, the fourfold assembly requesting empowerment. The Buddhas together conferring consent to open the tower is like the intent of conferring consent during formal acts within the Saṅgha (chandadāna). The Great Assembly Sūtra explains a certain number of Buddhas conferring consent; the Avataṃsaka also says that a certain number of Buddhas throughout the ten directions join in preaching the Avataṃsaka; the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā also says that a thousand Buddhas join in preaching the Prajñā; none of them state that these are Śākyamuni's emanations. Judging by the present sūtra, they should indeed be emanations; because those [other texts] carried expedients, it was not explicitly stated at that time. The present sūtra not only has a great number, but also directly states that they are emanations, all coming to confer consent. From "At that time Śākyamuni saw" onward, second, opening the tower is opening the expedient, and seeing the Buddha is revealing the real; it also confirms what came before and is about to open what comes after. "As if undoing a lock and key" means removing obstructions so that the capacity is moved. From "With a great voice" onward, second, Śākyamuni calls out to recruit people to transmit the text. This again has three: first, calling out loudly to recruit; from "The Tathāgata before long" onward, second, explaining that the time for entrustment has arrived; from "The Buddha wishes to take" onward, third, explaining that the entrustment has a designated recipient. "Has a designated recipient": if the Buddha were still in the world, he would benefit beings according to capacity, preaching the true Dharma himself without depending on others; now the Buddha's conditions for conversion and capacities are exhausted, and wishing to make this Dharma infinitely beneficial, he must entrust it for transmission. "The entrustment has a designated recipient" has two meanings: first, having a proximate recipient, entrusting it to the eighty thousand and twenty thousand long-resident bodhisattvas to propagate in this land; second, having a distant recipient, entrusting it to the original disciples, the dust-mote particles of a thousand worlds from below, to transmit everywhere, which also initiates the Life Span [Chapter].